Turkey suggests opening embassy to Palestine in East Jerusalem

Turkey will open an embassy in east Jerusalem once the world recognises an independent Palestinian state, the country’s foreign minister has said.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said there was “serious determination” among countries that have not yet recognised Palestine to do so.

“Once we succeed, embassies will open in the independent Palestinian state’s capital, east Jerusalem,” he said.

Efforts to create a Palestinian state on the West Bank of the River Jordan and Gaza on the Mediterranean coast have been frustrated by the continuing conflict with Israel and disputes over the status of diaspora Palestinians.

The Oslo Accords with Israel in 1993 established a Palestinian National Authority as an interim body to run parts of Gaza and the West Bank, but not East Jerusalem, pending an agreed solution to the conflict.

Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, with its continuing settlement building and military checkpoints, along with Palestinian attacks, have slowed progress towards a final agreement and led many on both sides to dispute the worth of the Accords.